Michelle Essomé
Managing Director of EJ Engagements
Former CEO | Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association
Michelle is an innovator, leader, and trailblazer. She was one of few African American women in investment banking in the 90s after graduating from Columbia Business School. Since then, she’s lived and worked all over the world, but has always had a heart for Africa that was instilled in her by her parents. That passion led her to taking on the role of CEO for Africa Private Equity and Venture Capital Association between 2011 - 2020. She played a fundamental role in restructuring and rebuilding the organization to get it to where it is today: representing over $40 billion in assets across the African continent. Though she stepped down from that role in 2020, she continues to serve as Managing Director of EJ Engagements, which advises founders and fund managers on fundraising.
Michelle Essomé joins Ndidi and Henry to discuss how investing has changed in Africa over the course of her decades-long career and to give listeners a sense of the opportunities on the continent today.